Ford has announced BlueCruise, a hands-free driving mode available on Mustang Mach-E and F-150 models to compete with Tesla and Elon Musk's Autopilot. 2021 Ford F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E buyers to pay $600 for a three-year subscription, plus the equipment cost of the new BlueCruise, the prestigious automaker is betting that.

Designated a Level 2 driver assistance system, BlueCruise is based on the brand's intelligent adaptive cruise control and uses radar-sensing technology. Thus, it not only maintains the lane, but also maintains an appropriate distance and brakes accordingly.BlueCruise-equipped vehicles are required to have a camera facing the driver to monitor line of sight and head position. If you are not paying enough attention to the road, the vehicle registers your discomfort with a visual warning.

BlueCruise is the next logical step in Ford's driver assistance suite, Co-Pilot360. Drivers will be able to relax their fingers, hands, and arms in a "hands-free blue zone" that is already mapped to GPS. Along with the blue light, the system will prompt the driver that he or she can take over driving in that particular section. Lane change assist is not currently part of the services offered, but Ford says that drivers will be able to pass or change lanes by activating their turn signals. Once this is available, the feature will be added through an over-the-air update.

Having lived in Atlanta for 10 years and battled nightmarish stop-and-go traffic for several hours each day, I can see this becoming an important amenity.

The Blue Oval proclaims its new feature's superiority over GM's SuperCruise and Tesla's Autopilot; BlueCruise displays text and blue lighting cues to indicate to the driver that it is active, helpful if you have color blindness (GM uses red and green, which can be problematic). It is also completely hands-free, which is an advantage over Tesla.

"BlueCruise gets Ford into the emerging hands-free highway driving space with a system that appears to have a price advantage over GM's Super Cruise," said Ed Kim, AutoPacifica vice president, industry analysis. With BlueCruise priced so affordably, more consumers will be exposed to true hands-free highway driving." Ultimately, the affordable BlueCruise could serve as a catalyst for the adoption of autonomous driving technology, which has been the goal of many in the automotive industry."

Ford engineers thoroughly tested BlueCruise, driving five 2021 Ford F-150s and five 2021 Mustang Mach-E vehicles 500,000 miles on a 110,000-mile "Mother of All Road Trips" through 37 states and five Canadian provinces The team set out on a From Ford's headquarters in Dearborn, Driver Assist Technology Supervisor Justin Thiemes monitored the trip and collected data on performance on a wide variety of disparate road conditions.

"It was like mission control," said Driver Assist Technology Supervisor Justin Thiems in a press release. We wanted to push the limits of BlueCruise." Every state has a slightly different way of building roads. When you include factors such as lane deterioration, weather, and construction, building a hands-free driving system becomes very complex."

The technology requires specific hardware and costs $950 for the F-150 as part of the Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package (included with the F-150 Limited and optional on Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum models). Mach-E buyers will receive Blue Cruise as standard equipment on the California Route 1, Premium, and First Edition variants. A $2,600 option is also available for Select trims; a three-year subscription fee of $600 is additional for all trim levels.